Lunch · 20 min · chinese

West Lake Beef Soup

Ground beef does the heavy lifting here, with egg whites rounding it out. A Chinese lunch that takes 20 minutes, start to finish. It is weeknight cooking that still hits your targets — 18 grams of protein per serving. It scales cleanly if you are cooking for more than one.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 0.5 lb Ground beef
• 3 Egg whites
• 6 cups Chicken stock
• 2 tbsp Cornstarch
• 0.5 tsp White pepper
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 0.25 cup Cilantro
• 1 tsp Salt

Steps

1. Toss the beef with the wine, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt; rest 10 minutes. The cornstarch keeps the beef silky in the hot soup.
2. Bring the stock to a boil and whisk in the beef, breaking it into the finest threads you can. Simmer 3 minutes, skimming.
3. Drizzle in the egg whites in a thin stream while stirring — they set into delicate white blossoms.
4. Season with white pepper and salt. The soup should taste clean and peppery, not heavy.
5. Ladle into bowls and top with cilantro. A Hangzhou classic that eats like a hug in a bowl.

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